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8/06/2014 10:52 am  #31


Re: Barbarians of the Void

nerosfiddle wrote:

The GIT! wrote:

I actually think you should make the change. I don't think sacrificing an element of "realism" for the sake of simplicity is the way to go. The idea of requiring a space dock to repair the hull or being stranded and vulnerable in space to make the repairs can be a great way to drive the narrative; something that could be missed for the sake of over simplification.

 

Yeah, that was my line of thought as well.
I don't feel it's overly cumbersome to simply say that damage control applies to everything but hull damage. It still lets the mechanic keep the ship flying but allows for scenarios in which the vessel is riddled with hull tears and desperately trying to get to a safe shipyard for repairs.

Surely this can also make the dynamic between Shield and Hull Armour far more important and dramatic (the shields are at 20% Capt; one more hit like that and we're taking damage to the hull!).
 

Last edited by The GIT! (8/06/2014 10:53 am)


Wealth can be wonderful, but you know, success can test one's mettle as surely as the strongest adversary.
 

8/06/2014 10:58 am  #32


Re: Barbarians of the Void

I was also wondering about the possibility of being able to transfer "energy" from one area of the ship to other areas. The idea of the captain having to decide who gets energy to feed their systems during conflict can be a really cool game mechanic; Principal Warfare Officer needing power for his weapon systems; shields needing power for defense; engines for manoeuvring; life support (is that even in the equation?).

I'm not trying to add too much complication but I do have very fond memories of playing FASA's Star Trek RPG in which every player had a role and they all kept trying to get the captain to give them what they needed; problem being (as the ship took damage) there was a limited supply of power available.

Not sure if this is possible but it would be damn cool

Here's a basic description of how FASA set up the starship combat in Star Trek back in the 1980's...

The game's basic rule system provided a simple system for moderating space battles, in which each player assumed a role in the battle, typically by manning a station on the ship's bridge.

The Captain determined the strategy, the Engineer was responsible for power management and allocation to different systems such as weapons and shields, the Helmsman for firing weapons, the Navigator for managing deflector shields, the Communications Officer for damage control and so on.

 

Last edited by The GIT! (8/06/2014 11:03 am)


Wealth can be wonderful, but you know, success can test one's mettle as surely as the strongest adversary.
 

8/06/2014 11:57 am  #33


Re: Barbarians of the Void

I like the idea alot of making hull damage require extensive repairs. Works very well if you swap shields with hull as was mentioned earlier (ie all damage appllies to shields first and armored hull is a boon replacing the shields boon).

In addition it makes a sort of sense. Shields get affected first, then what gets through gets that armor check.  Hull Points just reflects how big the ship is, but armored reflects if it is military grade or not.

@The GIT! - were you thinking of something different than the Reserve Power stat? Because that Reserve Power stat is just so simple and elegant. In my mind it does exactly what you are talking about. But again, that is my strange mind, not yours.

Last edited by jasales (8/06/2014 12:03 pm)

 

8/06/2014 12:59 pm  #34


Re: Barbarians of the Void

You know, the more we discuss it, the more convinced I am that I need to swap Armor and Shields.
Make Shields one of the primary attributes and make Armor a boon.

If I do that, should I modify damage allocation so that Shields must be reduced by 1 instead of Hull?

As for energy allocation, I'll second jasales's question; were you refering to something other than Reserve Power? I had included Res Pwr precisely to include that dynamic. Perhaps I need to make it more important? Again though, I wanted to keep the book keeping to a minimum.

     Thread Starter
 

8/06/2014 1:41 pm  #35


Re: Barbarians of the Void

Having shields get chewed up first would definitely allow for exciting combats.  It also plays well with hull damage needing to be repaired. I'll run a few space fights and let you know by late Saturday what I find.

 

8/06/2014 2:01 pm  #36


Re: Barbarians of the Void

On the dynamic of energy allocation; I seem to remeber that the ships have an Auxiliary Power stat which is spent like hero points. Give the commander control over these. He gets to decide who gets what after hearing the pleading of his crew.
Of course the one at the engineering console could just do what he wants.

 

8/06/2014 2:35 pm  #37


Re: Barbarians of the Void

nerosfiddle wrote:

As for energy allocation, I'll second jasales's question; were you refering to something other than Reserve Power? I had included Res Pwr precisely to include that dynamic. Perhaps I need to make it more important? Again though, I wanted to keep the book keeping to a minimum.

OK, do nothing. I was at work and didn't have the book handyI'll go back and read it again because it seems I may have missed something


Wealth can be wonderful, but you know, success can test one's mettle as surely as the strongest adversary.
 

8/07/2014 7:39 am  #38


Re: Barbarians of the Void

I played some small space battles last night. I renamed Armor to shields and renamed the Shields boon to Armor. I used the Hardened Armor boon as a boon to the Armor boon, giving an extra die.

It worked well. Attacks were launched, shields were checked and reduced by one on a failed roll (as previously Hull was) and remaining damage went to where I allocated it. It was pretty cool.  I need to play some more to be sure. But overall, it works very well in an RPG situation. I leaves a lot to be desired in multiple ships and spacebattles but, that is not what this game is about. Nor should be.  I tthink it perfectly does the job it was ment too.

I think it will be even better with a group of players playing the crew. 

The more I play with this the more impressed I am with what you did with this nerosfiddle.
 

Last edited by jasales (8/07/2014 7:48 am)

 

8/07/2014 9:41 am  #39


Re: Barbarians of the Void

OK - so I managed to have a bit more of a read of BoV last night (I'm more impressed each time I read it) and I would now like to support the thoughts of swapping Armour and Shields as jasales describes above. Oh, and I now have a better understanding of Reserve Power 
 


Wealth can be wonderful, but you know, success can test one's mettle as surely as the strongest adversary.
 

8/07/2014 9:49 am  #40


Re: Barbarians of the Void

I think that Reserver Power stat is great. I can see a player going to use some but another player goes first and uses it up! 1st player "Hey! I needed that for my guns!" 2nd player  "We'll I used it for the shields!"

 I figure a team will sort that out or have someone be a captain and make the call as to where it goes. I think that would be part of the fun.

Here is a sheet with 4 starship character sheets on it. I just copied them from the alternate character sheet. Armor was replaced with Shields for my own purposes.

http://www.epicwords.com/attachments/15418
 
Damage allocation is kinda fun. With Hull damage needing repairs at a facility there is some fun stress in figuring out where to place damage.

Last edited by jasales (8/07/2014 10:04 am)

 

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